AQA GCSE 2 Sustainability and the environment Design and Technology 8552 Sustainability and the environment Unit 1 New and emerging technologies 2

Objectives Understand that new technologies need to be developed and produced in a sustainable way Be aware of the impact that excessive use of certain materials has on the environment Understand how the environment can be protected by responsible design and manufacturing Understand how waste can be disposed of with the least impact on the planet Understand the positive and negative impacts new products have on the environment

Fragile Earth Our planet is a well-balanced eco-system Our consumption of the Earth’s resources is damaging our environment World population is predicted to hit 9.7 billion by 2050 How can new technologies help the environment and address the sustainability of resources?

Sustainability of raw materials Finite (non-renewable) resources and fossil fuels Being used faster than they are naturally replaced Cannot be synthetically reproduced Includes coal, gas and oil 84% of our energy comes from non-renewable sources Governments are working hard to reduce this through harnessing more non-finite energy sources

Renewable energy Wind, wave, solar, geothermal, tidal and biomass Energy is used in residential, commercial, industrial situations and for transportation

Non-finite materials Non-finite resources include those that are unlikely to be exhausted, or those that are replaced faster than we can use them These include: Oxygen Fresh water Timber Leather Is paper a renewable resource?

Responsible design What factors should be considered by responsible designers and manufacturers?

Responsible design Considerations include: Production techniques that may use non-renewable energy Toxic by-products created in manufacture Environmental impact of mining or harvesting The product itself or production processes may emit CO2 Powering a product may require non-renewable energy Transportation and distribution distance Maintenance and repair costs Welfare of workers in the material supply chain Recyclability at the end of a product’s lifetime

Waste disposal The production and consumption of resources creates waste How we treat and dispose of this waste can dramatically improve its impact on the planet What impact might the following methods have? Incineration / burning Landfill / burial Dumping at sea Recycling

Impact of consumption What happens when waste is liquid, toxic or radioactive? Chemicals can leach into the soil and water courses Some industrial waste may be radioactive, particularly that from nuclear reactors What is meant by a radioactive half-life? How is radioactive waste dealt with?

Ecological and social footprint All materials leave a footprint in terms of the impact their production and consumption has on the planet How does each of the following stages of product manufacture and it use affect us? Obtaining raw materials Manufacture and processing Shipping / transportation / distribution Battery or fuel power / consumption / wear and tear End of life

Sustainability Complete Worksheet 2, Task 1 Style #7653-DC Leather upper: made in China Rubber sole made in USA Manufactured in Canada Steel lace eyelets Patent finish

Life Cycle Assessment Conducting an LCA will evaluate the environmental impact on a product What factors would you consider at each stage of the LCA? What can a company learn by assessing their products’ lifespan in this way? How can they use this to make future improvements?

改善 Continuous improvement Continuous improvement is an approach that seeks to continually improve and develop products, services and procedures for the better A Japanese approach called ‘Kaizen’ (Change for better) rewards employees who suggest and develop improvements, regardless of how small they may seem The cumulative impact of minor improvements can be significant 改善

Efficient working Efficient working aims to remove waste from any process which may manifest itself as: Wasted time Over production Wasted resources including power Wasted activity Digital printing technology has enabled small publishing companies to benefit from printing books on demand rather than printing and warehousing large print runs. How might this improve efficiency?

Pollution Pollution Our air and waterways can be affected by industrial pollution How does air pollution affect us? How does the pollution of our rivers, seas and waterways affect us? What can be done to reverse and prevent pollution?

Global warming Primarily caused by an excess of CO2 in the atmosphere that traps heat, warming the planet Burning fossil fuels releases CO2 from the earth What are some of the effects of global warming? What are some of the techniques, policies and products being created to reduce or reverse these effects?

Battery power Battery production uses finite and dangerous metals The production process is very intensive Proper disposal of batteries is required to prevent leaching alkalis into the environment How ‘green’ is battery power? What is the alternative to battery power?

Impact on the enviroment Plastic microbeads in exfoliating scrubs, body washes and toothpaste Not a new idea, but only recently have we found them inside deep sea animals and they are polluting oceans Plastics absorb toxins Fish eat plastics We eat fish. Mmmm

Helping the environment Hydrogen fuel cells produce only water as waste Electronic paper could replace printed paper What might be the environmental impacts of producing these technologies? How might each of these technologies actually help the environment?

Eco-friendly technology Old technology combined with new ideas can create excellent new products The engine has become more and more efficient with refinements and technological developments Where / how could current technology be developed in the future to do more?

Reducing consumption Digitisation and consolidation of many devices in one Reading a book, playing a CD and taking a photo can all be done with one device, without requiring any more raw material Devices also combine Sat Nav systems, calculators, torches, watches, alarm clocks and more

The environment Complete Task 2 on the worksheet